March 15, 2005 Contact: Nicholas Throckmorton, (202) 208-5636 FWS SERVICE PUBLISHES FINAL LIST OF NON-NATIVE BIRD SPECIES The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service today published in the Federal = Register a final list of the bird species to which the Migratory Bird = Treaty Act (MBTA) does not apply because they are not native to the = United States and have been introduced by humans everywhere they occur = in the nation. The list is required by the Migratory Bird Treaty Reform = Act of 2004. Most migratory bird species in the United States are protected by the = MBTA, which prohibits take of protected species, their nests and eggs = except as permitted by regulation. The MBTA implements treaties for the = protection of shared migratory bird resources signed by the United = States with Canada, Japan, Mexico, and Russia. "By declaring that the MBTA does not apply to nonnative human-introduced = species, the Reform Act has restored the historic status of the MBTA and = enabled State and Federal Agencies to resume effective management of = native wildlife populations," said Service Director Steve Williams. Williams noted that the publication of today's final list is for public = information purposes only as required by the Reform Act and has no legal = effect. The actual list of migratory birds protected by the MBTA is published in = the Code of Federal Regulations (Title 50, Part 10.13). When it became = law late last year, the Reform Act excluded any species from protection = not specifically included on the Title 50, Part 10 list. Of the 125 species on the final list of species exempt from MBTA = regulation, only 17 are known to have established self-sustaining = breeding populations in the United States. Only one of the 125 species = has ever been treated as federally protected under the MBTA. The mute = swan was afforded protection beginning in December 2001 by order of a = Federal court. Other prominent and well-known species on the list are = the Eurasian collared-dove and rock pigeon. The exclusion of these species from the MBTA does not change the = protections that they might receive under other laws or treaties such as = the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild = Fauna and Flora (CITES), the Endangered Species Act, or the Wild Bird = Conservation Act. In addition, States and communities may protect = nonnative, human-introduced species at their discretion. Numerous other introduced species--including such widely distributed = species as ring-necked pheasant, European starling, and house = sparrow--don't belong to families covered by the MBTA and thus are not = affected by this notice. The notice is available on the Internet at = <http://migratorybirds.fws.gov/> .
Mark Martell Director of Bird Conservation Audubon Minnesota 2357 Ventura Drive #106 St. Paul, MN 55125 651-739-9332 651-731-1330 (FAX)